The Pirate and his Pearl
by access2u
Summary: AU. Fixed ch. 5! Sorry for the delay! Will Fina's plans work, or will Ramirez get in the way?!!!
1. Her day

Legal Stuff: Skies of Arcadia does NOT belong to me. It belongs to its respective owners. I am not writing this story for money, it is just for the fans of Skies of Arcadias own enjoyment. Do not take this story and slap your name on it, if you want to add it to your web page, please e-mail me about it first or just give me credit. And now on to the story!  
  
The Pirate and his Pearl  
  
Once upon at time, thousands of feet beneath the ocean, in a kingdom only known in fairy tales lived an ancient race of creatures. These creatures were only heard of in bars where old retired sailors hung out and told stories of amazing discoveries, ferocious battles with black pirates, and of the rare sightings of mermaids. Mermaids, the old sailors would describe them, as being half human half fish. However nobody ever believed in their existence.  
  
But to the mermaids, the world of the Humans were very real. Humans were threats to the mermaids. In the sacred law of the mermaids, it was forbidden to ever be seen by a human. It was even more forbidden to ever touch a human. However, they were allowed, just once in a life time, to go above the waves and look at the human world. On the eight-teenth year of their life, they were able to spend one whole day observing the forbidden world. And today, it was Princess Fina's turn to go above the waves ...  
  
*In the Kingdom on Atlantis*  
  
Fina woke up feeling the warmth of the sun on her face. "Today's the day!" She thought to herself eagerly as she crawled out of her shell bed. She ran her fingers through her long golden blonde hair, sectioning it out, then proceeded to braid it. She had barely a wink of sleep the night before, she stayed up with her sisters listening to their stories of the human world. Hearing of the things called birds, and sometimes even the rare sightings of humans always excited Fina. She dreamt of this day since she was a little girl, and now it was finally her turn to go and taste the 'breeze'. She took a quick glance in her piece of mirror, before she left. It was rare for mermaids to ever have mirrors since they didn't have the technology to create it, but once in a while they'd find a ship that had sunk that would have mirrors. If you were lucky, it would be a big mirror. Fina spent most of her time raiding ships, trying her best to learn about humans. Sometimes even pretending to have legs!  
  
Fina grabbed a string of pearls from her vanity desk and quickly tied her hair. She swam out of her tower and down to the royal dining room where she  
  
was sure everybody was waiting for her to give her their blessings. The Palace of Atlantica was made of corals and rock. It was so colorful because  
  
of all the underwater plants and life that sprung off the corals. It was always buzzing with life, Fina always had plenty of friends to talk to. Because she was always around other mermaids (and fish) she knew from an early age that she was different. Most mermaids had dark murcky black hair that blended in with the depths of the ocean, but not Fina, she had yellow hair. Yellow hair that resembled the 'Sun'. Her father even told her  
  
her hair was like liquid sunlight. It got her a lot of attention.  
  
Fina moved her fins faster than she ever had in her whole life. She whizzed  
  
by a few columns before a fimiliar voice caught her attention. "My Lady Fina!" Fina spun around so suddenly her fin had create mini whirl pool. "Oh Ramriez! Good morning!" She slightly bowed in the handsome silver haired mans direction. "Happy birthday, fair Fina." Ramriez took one of Fina's hands kissing it, " Are you off to see your father and sisters?" "Yes I am." "Why don't I escort you there then? I was on my way over there before I bumped into you." "Alright." She replied a bit dissapointedly. Since she was going with Ramriez she knew it'd take even LONGER to get to where she was going, and she didn't want to wait another moment until reaching the surface. Fina slipped her arm in one of Ramriez's crooked elbow and they were off.  
  
The trip to the dining hall took what seemed like an eternity to Fina. Along the way Ramriez was making small talk. A good number of females heads  
  
turned as they passed. Fina knew that they were looking at Ramriez. He had just recenty transfered from the Ocean under the Silver moon when her father opened some spaces in the army for new qualified young men. Ramriez was strong, brilliant, and very good looking. He was her father's favorite warrior, whenever there was a disturbance, Ramriez would always, fast and efficiently, solve the problem.  
  
They finally entered the dining hall, when there was suddenly an ambush. Twelve frantically screaming girls charged at Fina. Ramriez gingerly released Fina's arm before he could be severly damaged by all the girls. Each girl crowding around their newly 18 year old sister, each giving her their own blessing. "Girls, girls, girls!!! Calm down or else you'll kill Fina before she gets to see the human world." The King sat up holding his tritan, motioning his hands. All twelve girls went back to their place around the table. The King  
  
opened his arms out to his special daughter. Fina swan up to her father and  
  
entered his warm embrace.  
  
"Happy birthday my precious little Fina! Are you ready to see the human World young one?" Fina playfully pushed her father. "Papa quit talking to me like I'm a baby! And to answer your second question, yes, I've been waiting forever to see the human world and I would like to see it right away.... So may I please leave now?" She gave her father the most innocent pleading eyes she's used since she was little. "But Fina, there's still a magnificent breakfast here for you! Eat before you go! You'll need your energy." "Pleaaaaase Papa! I'll grab something before I go!"  
  
"Oh I should've known this would happen. Alright Fina if it'll really make you that happy, you may leave now. But come see me right after you're done looking at the overworld. And please my daughter, be careful of fishing boats!" Fina's face lit up with delight, "Oh thank you Papa! Don't worry I'll be careful!" She quickly pecked her father's cheek and dashed out of the dining room. She went so fast she didn't even notice the dissapointed look on Ramriez's face.  
Author's notes:  
  
I hope you enjoyed chapter 1! I've had this idea for a story in my head for a while, and I'm just so happy to finally be writing it! Please review this story even if you have BAD things to say about it. Yes this is a Vyse+Fina fanficcie! 


	2. wedding circumstances

*In another kingdom under the Red Moon in the Blue Rouge territory*  
  
A handsome brown hair brown eyed young man walked down a long hall. He wore a white decorated mariners uniform, and a glass eye patch. He strode down the hallway with an uneasy look on his face. He walked down this hallway many times, every time he did it usually was because of bad news. He finally reached the door and gave it firm pull. He entered his father's office. The office wasn't decorated elaborately, just furnished with a dark cherry wood desk, a book shelf, and a comfy couch. The young man faced the older man, who resembled the youth.  
  
"So, what's the news this time Dad?" The older man shot a look at his son. "Vyse how many times have I told you, call me Captain! Ahem, anyways, Son, you're old enough now, and mature enough, to take over this place for me." Vyse jaw dropped. "Take over the whole kingdom you mean?! You're joking right?!! Dad I'm only 21! I don't want to be tied down here yet, there's still more I want to see!" "Vyse, when I was 21 my father did the same thing. I know how you feel, I have a piece of the sea in me too. And it's urging me to get the hell out of this place before I do something crazy! Son, I've seen how well you take care of your crew, and I know you'll take care of our people just as well. Don't misunderstand me though, I love this land and our people, I wouldn't leave them to just anybody."  
  
A moment of silence passed between the father and son. Vyse knew there was no arguing with "the captain" whatever he said was law. But still he couldn't fight off the panic he was feeling rising up in him. Ruling the kingdom would mean he would see less of the sea and it's adventures, he couldn't even begin to fathom a life without sailing. He looked at the sympathy in his father's eyes and also the stubbornness in them telling him that there was no way he'd take no for an answer. Vyse walked over to the couch and relieved his knees of the weight of himself and the world on the couch. He buried his face in his hands. He knew this day was coming, but it was just too sudden! The King watched his son. He felt absolutely terrible doing this to his son. It was like clipping a bird's wings. But the King knew it was Vyse's time to reign, while he would be able to return  
  
to the free life of sailing.  
  
As if to comfort Vyse he added, "You'll have 2 weeks to prepare yourself.. .." The King took a deep breath, he knew what he'd have to say next would devastate his son. "... And find a suitable wife."  
  
*Down at the kingdom of Atlantis*  
  
The King was busy reading documents, reviewing new laws and other documents  
  
containing important information. He tossed his squid pen into the trash. He opened his desk looking for more squid pens, when there was a knock on the door. The King hated legal work, but what he hated more was being distracted from his work. "What is it?!" He asked annoyed. "It's your loyal servant, Ramriez." A calm voice replied. "Oh Ramriez my boy! Come in!" The huge door opened and Ramriez slipped in. He gave the king a respectful bow, even though he knew he didn't need to; but for today he would need to gain as much respect from the king as he could. The King returned to his desk, "Why did you leave the party? Are you bored?" "Well I don't see how everyone can celebrate Princess Fina's birthday without her there." "Oh I see. Do you miss her already?" Ramriez toyed around with his hands a blush spreading across his face.  
  
"I'm just a little worried about her safety. She's going to the surface, and she has nobody there to protect her." "She'll be fine. She knows a great deal about humans, more than you or me. She'll be able to spot a human long before they see her. Don't worry." "But humans, I hear, are getting more cunning and are using their technology to create better fishing boats." The king observed Ramriez, and how full of hate his eyes were. "You really can't stand them can you Ramriez?" Ramriez looked up from the ground into the king's own eyes. "I hate them. If I could, I'd wipe their kind off the face of the ocean. They think they're superior. They kill our friends, dump their nets into the ocean and kill innocent mermaids who get strangled in them. Then they fight terrible wars on our ocean with their weapons of mass destruction causing major damage on the lives of our people! If they didn't exist then we'd be able to see the surface and the Sun everyday instead of just one day.." Ramriez voice died down a bit from the fury it once was.  
  
The king looked at the boy, searching him for the true reason he was there in his office. "Go on..." The king said, he was now determined to get the secret agenda out of Ramriez. "If only Princess Fina could see what monsters humans really were, then she wouldn't waste her life dreaming about them." "For Fina..." The king said to himself. That was it, he was sure. From the first day Ramriez saw Fina the king was more than sure that he'd fallen  
  
in love with her. Ramriez looked at the king wondering what he was thinking. He knew the king now knew the real reason for him being there. For Fina. Just for Fina. Long before he had come to Atlantis, he'd heard rumors about her.  
  
The most beautiful mermaid that ever swam in the ocean. But no rumor would ever do Fina's beauty justice. When he first saw her, he thought she was just an illusion.  
  
He was in a dream like phase, hypnotized watching the sun's rays reflect off her hair. She was playing with a school of guppies. He watched her, doing graceful back flips. Her face was lighted with happiness. Her eye's were two shades of blue. Her eye's were light blue, but a much darker shade  
  
of blue near her pupils. Just like the shallow and deep parts of the ocean.  
  
Her eye's were a perfect contrast to her light skin. But what caught his attention the most, was her hair. He never saw hair color like hers before.  
  
It reminded him so much of the Sun, even though he saw the Sun only once. Fina herself was the Sun. Radiating with energy, her laughter as her warmth. He knew that she was special. She was the treasure he'd been looking for his whole life. More precious then any pearl. Since then he was determined to make her his.  
  
"Ramriez, how do you feel for Fina?" Ramriez looked at the king once more, the king took note of the sudden softness in young silver haired man's eyes. "That's what I wanted to ask you about. I'd be honored if you'd give your blessing to Princess Fina's and my wedding. Your Majesty I love your daughter, and I swear on the very sword I wear, that I'd die before I or anybody else would ever hurt her." Ramriez said with one breath, he suddenly felt dizzy. He waited for what felt like years for the king's answer.  
  
The king was shocked with what he'd just heard. He didn't know what to say or feel: grief or happiness? To give up Fina, the one daughter that resembled his favorite wife. Fina's mother died long ago, Fina was the only thing he had left of her. But to gain Ramriez as a son! Ramriez was one of the most powerful warriors in the ocean, he'd make a fine king and husband. Maybe Ramriez would gain more territory for his kingdom. After catching his breath, he managed to say one word before bursting out with all the emotions he felt. "Son." 


	3. fated storm

Fina swam above the surface of the water for the first time. She felt something cold brush against her cheek, but when she looked around she didn't see anybody. "That must be the wind or what they call a 'breeze'." She told herself, she looked at the sky, admiring the white things called clouds. She wondered how they managed to stay in the sky. Maybe they were islands in the sky, where another race of humans lived. Maybe it was where the birds lived. Fina slowly sipped the wind in, tasting it, holding it in. Trying to remember it. She looked at everything, trying her best to keep the image in her mind. Then she looked up at the Sun, it was too bright for her. But her father was right, it was the same shade as the sun. After hours of observing, she saw some dolphins and went over to play with them, not even noticing how far she swam when she was with them.  
  
*In the Kingdom of Nasrad, Blue Rouge Territory*  
  
A red haired girl in a yellow dress was running around frantically. She was searching for her best friend, the prince of Nasrad. All she knew is that that morning his father called him to his office. After that he just disappeared. She went to all the places where he usually hung out, but she found no trace of him. When she went to ask his father about the missing prince's whereabouts, all he did was grunt and mumble. It was around noon, and she was still looking for him. Until finally she spotted him on the roof of the palace. "Vyse! There you are! I've been looking for you the whole day! What's up?" Aika greeted happily walking up to him. He was leaning against the wall facing the ocean. He turned around slowly facing his childhood friend. Aika noticed the sad look on his face, and took his hands in hers. "What did your dad say to you?" Vyse looked down at their joined hands. "He says I have to become king," Aika's eyes opened wider, "Vyse that's great!" "And I have to find a girl to rule with me as queen." He added dryly. Aika's face cringed. She didn't like the idea of her best friend getting married to a rich snob.  
  
"Is that so? Well then, this calls for a party!" The two perked up their heads in surprise, they faced the direction the voice was coming from. "Gilder!" The two said at the same time. Gilder strolled out from his hiding spot. "Vyse, it seems an awful shame that you're having to tie the knot at such a young age. I should know, I'm 26 and I'm still not ready to settle down. So I have an idea, why don't we have one last party on my ship Claudia. Might as well enjoy the last of your single days. Come on!" Gilder threw his arm around Vyse. Aika really didn't like Gilder's ship, all the pictures of half naked ladies offended her a great deal. But if it was to cheer up Vyse, she would manage. "For once Gilder has come up with a reasonable plan. Come on Vyse! Let's not waste a single moment of this day! We don't have much time left, so we might as well enjoy every last second of it." Aika said cheerily. She also put an arm around Vyse. Vyse heaved a big sigh. He felt ashamed for making his two best friends worry about him. "all right you two, just let me change out of these stiff white clothes. I want to get into my pirate clothes! I want to wear them as much as I can." Aika and Gilder nodded in agreement and escorted Vyse into his room. Then they were off on the Claudia, to celebrate the final days of Vyse's freedom.  
  
The partying went on for hours. All of Vyse's crew from the Delphinus was there to celebrate. Vyse was well known for all his discoveries, as well as his battles fighting off the Black Pirates. His rough rouge looks, and his gentleman like manners won him the hearts of many women. And yet, throughout all those years, he was not able to find one girl to capture his heart. He liked Aika for some time, but later he realized Aika was too much of a sister to him. Besides Aika wasn't royalty, she didn't even have royal blood in her. If they did fall in love, their marriage would never be accepted. And he knew Aika wouldn't ever fool around with a married guy. The only way Aika and him met was when her family's ship was attacked. Her whole family died when the ship sank, since then Vyse vowed to protect her. Aika was a very attractive girl. All the sailors turned their heads when she strolled by. Her sassy attitude, awesome looks, and her stylish yellow dress and tight fitting boots was enough to lure any guy in. Of course Aika's only love was treasure, she would let no man get in her way when it came to hunting treasure. Talk and a lot more bite, that was Aika.  
  
Vyse leaned against the railing of the Claudia admiring the setting sun. He looked at the beautiful blended colors of the sky reflecting on the shimmering ocean, as he did many times. No matter how many times he watched the Sun set, it always had it's way of keeping his attention. He never failed to watch the sun set. He kept his eyes open, taking in every detail, memorizing it. He knew he'd need to remember what it looked like for the rough years ahead of him. What he failed to see was the dark clouds forming above his own head. There was a terrible storm brewing.  
  
Fina followed the dolphins pretty far, she didn't even realize that she had went out of Atlantis territory. The dolphins Fina was playing with was leading her to a ship. Fina stopped her swimming to admire the ship. She was still pretty far away from the ship. She had never seen a ship sailing before, the only ones she ever saw were the ones at the bottom of the ocean. The ship she was looking at had black sails, and was painted red. It didn't look like a fishing boat. A lot of noise was coming from the ship. "Was there a celebration?" She asked herself. "Wait! Maybe there are humans on that ship!" Her heart skipped a beat just thinking about humans! Before she could think another thought, she swam out to get a closer look at the ship. She went beneath the water for cover. She swam around the whole ship, not being able to see one human. The ship was just too big! But just as she was about to swim away from the ship, a blurry image of a human caught her attention.  
  
The waves were distorting her image of the man, so she carefully swam a little closer to the surface. She realized the person wasn't looking in her direction, so she decided to just let her eyes go above the waves. What she saw fascinated her. Right on the railing of the boat was the most handsome man she had ever seen. He looked like he was in great pain, it showed in his eyes. He had a rough look, and strange clothing. His messy brown hair blowing in the breeze. The look in his eyes went straight to her heart, she could almost feel her heart breaking. How she longed to go up to him and make him feel better, but she knew better. It was forbidden to ever meet a human. Then she noticed a human girl coming up from behind him. "Was that his wife?" Fina asked herself as a strange pain filled her chest. Fina ducked her head back into the water, and noticed that the current got a lot rougher. Was a storm coming?  
  
"Hey there, don't look so down at your own party." Aika said tenderly. Vyse didn't look at her, he knew he should've said something to her so she wouldn't worry, but there was a deep aching void in his chest. He couldn't think of anything. "Everything's gonna be all right Vyse. If you have to stop sailing, then I will too!" This caught Vyse's attention, faced her and was amazed at the determined look on her face. "I'll help you find the right lady too! In fact I heard back in ancient times kings would make their wives compete with each other, and the winner would marry the king. The king would make them fight lions, swim across rapids, climb the highest mountains!" Vyse chuckled, Aika never failed to impress him with her wild stories. He was grateful he had her there to cheer him up. "Aika, you and your crazy imagination! Where do you hear these stories?!" But before Vyse could say anything else, he felt a hard kick in his senses. His instincts were telling him something was wrong, very wrong. Aika noticed the sudden change in Vyse's face. "Vyse what is it?!" Aika's voice was blocked out in Vyse's mind. He was completely focused on finding whatever was wrong. He looked around, then up at the sky, it was completely dark, even though it was night already, he couldn't even see the stars! Not only that, the wind picked up, it was starting to blow violently. "It's a storm!" He cried out, but Aika had already sensed it. "Vyse we gotta warn everybody cuz they're still partying!" Vyse nodded in agreement, "Aika warn Gilder, I have to get the women inside and tell the men to tie up the sails, and drop anchor so we won't drift." "Right." Replied Aika hastily as she ran off inside.  
  
Vyse moved off the railing, barking orders to the drunken men. Some of the men were able to respond, they climbed up the ladders trying hastily to tie up the sails. Vyse quietly prayed that they'd get it tied up before it started raining or worse, thunder. But it was too late, the wind had gotten too strong, and the lightening had already started. He urged the other men to drop whatever they were doing and get inside, and they obeyed. He stayed up making sure the sails were secure, when he heard Aika's voice calling out to him. "Vyse!!! Hurry up and get inside! It's getting dangerous!!" Vyse had been in worse situations before, but he always liked to play it safe. He jumped down and ran in the direction Aika was in. Before Aika noticed it, Vyse saw that a big object carried by the wind was about to hit Aika. He sprinted over to her, knocking her out of the objects way, but in the process getting cut on his cheek and getting thrown into the violent seas.  
  
Fina had been watching the whole thing. She had never seen a storm before. She was amazed by the lightening , but she was also watching the handsome young man. She had a hard time fighting the waves, but she had to make sure the young man was going to be okay. She saw him move quickly and suddenly saw him get thrown off the ship. Before his body could even touch the water, she was already making her way to him. On board Aika watched in horror, as Vyse's body left the ship. "Man over board! Damn can't anybody hear me!!!!??" Aika cried in vain, finally she got ready to jump in after Vyse, but before she could there was a strong grip on her wrist. She turned on heels to see who dared to try to stop her. It was Gilder with a dead serious look on his face. "Don't Aika! We already lost one good man, what good would losing a good lady do?!!" Aika knew what he meant, but didn't want to just leave her friend. "Gi-!" Before she could say his name Gilder punched her in the stomach to get her unconscious and carried her inside. He shot a quick look over his shoulder at the violent waves whispering, "Forgive me Vyse, but we know you're in a better place now." And silently swore to protect the dead prince's bestfriend.  
  
Fina beat her arms wildly as she struggled to get to the man's body. And once she reached him she held onto him putting her arms under his arms and letting his head rest on her neck. It would be a lot easier if they could just go deeper into the ocean and wait the storm out, but Fina knew better. This man had to get above the water right away. She swam up not fearing being seen. When she finally got above the surface, she had to make sure the man was breathing and that no water would enter his lungs. She had to find land, somewhere she could let the man rest. The only problem was where to find land. She quietly prayed to her mother for an answer. Then suddenly it came to her, "go in the opposite directions that the waves are going." She wasn't sure if it was the right answer, but she just decided to trust it, even though that meant going the hard way.  
  
It took hours to swim against the waves, and she wasn't even sure if she would find land. Fina hadn't eaten anything in that whole day, and the fatigue was getting to her. Finally she saw it, land. Her arms were numb and cramping up, her eyelids were begging for rest, but she had to save the man. She had to use her two arms to drag herself and the man on shore, but finally she managed. She collapsed next on him. Putting her head on his heart. Listening. There definitely was a pulse, and he was breathing. It was a good sign. she propped herself up using her elbows to look the man in the face. She examined his face thoroughly. Trying to memorize every last handsome detail. Then she notice the cut under his eye. She used one hand to support the man's head as her other hand and wiped the blood off his face. It was still an open wound, and as one of her gentle fingers brushed against it, Vyse winced. She watched his eye brows draw together, and watched as his eyes slowly opened. Fina felt her heart begin to beat faster, she wondered if it was from excitement or from the dread of knowing she was breaking one of the biggest rules.  
  
Vyse opened his eyes slowly, he had a major head ache. He could barely recall what had happened. His vision was a bit blurred, but when it cleared up he saw the most gorgeous unique blue eyes stating into his own eyes. He noticed how the woman's eyes resembled the ocean, with a deep blue inside and lighter around the outside. Framing the blue eyes were dark long eyelashes with eyebrows positioned as if the girl was worried. Vyse reached out one of his hands to touch the girl , checking to see if she was real. She was one of the prettiest girls he had ever seen in his life, maybe she was an angel. He touched her face and watched the emotion change on her face from bewilderment to a much softer gentler look. Then as he realized that he wasn't dreaming, he kicked himself mentally. "Say something to her you idiot!!" His heart was pounding, a million things came into his mind to say to her at once but he decided that they were all too lame. A few of Gilder's old pick up lines had come into his mind too, but he would die before using any of those. Finally Vyse decided to say something but as he cleared his throat, but began to cough violently, his throat felt raw. "I must've swallowed some sea water... Wait how did I get out of the ocean? Did this girl save me?" Vyse felt a thousand questions race into his mind. But just as he was about to try talking to her again, he heard footsteps coming, was it one of her friends?  
  
Fina watched the man closely as he tried to clear his throat, he must've had a question for her. But if he did ask her anything, what should she say? Should she answer? She shouldn't even be there. She wished she could've stayed on the beach with him forever, talking with him, getting to know him and whatever land he came from. But she heard footsteps coming their way. She already had one human see her, she couldn't possibly let more humans see her, they might not be as kind as the man was. She looked back to the ocean, but she wouldn't make it back to the water in time, so she decided to hide behind a rock that was close to her. Without giving the man she rescued a second look she dragged herself behind the rock.  
  
Vyse turned his eyes to the girl as she looked off to the direction where the footsteps were coming from, then without warning she left his side. Before he could see where she left to he had to squint his eyes because the Sun's bright rays were in his eyes. He wondered why she took off so quickly, but before he could think of any reasonable answers he heard a very familiar voice calling out his name. Was that his mother?!! "Vyse! Vyse my son! What are you doing out here? Weren't you with Gilder? Where's Aika? Oh Vyse, you look terrible!" His mother was at his side helping him stand on his own legs as she wiped off some sand off his clothes. When Vyse was finally standing he didn't even look at his mother. He looked all along the beach, but there was no sign of the girl anywhere. Like she just disappeared. He saddened at the thought of never seeing the beautiful girl, but he wouldn't give up. "Mom did you see a blonde girl?" Vyse's mother gave him a concerned look, perhaps he'd been out in the Sun for too long. "No son, I saw no girl with you. What did she look like maybe she lives around this area." Vyse didn't even think about answering his mother's question. How could be possibly describe the most beautiful girl he's ever seen? And he was sure he'd remember if any girl living in his own kingdom looked as beautiful. So he just shook his head not saying anything. He had to find that girl.  
  
Fina watched from behind the rocks as the man and his mother walked away from the beach, the man took a few more looks over his shoulder while he was leaving. She heaved a heavy sigh and rested her back against the rock. She closed her eyes and imagined the young man's face smiling at her. She definitely wanted to see him again, but that would be impossible. The thought of never seeing him again filled her chest with a horrible pain. For the first time in her life she felt unsatisfied. In her whole entire life she's never wanted anything, whatever she wanted her father or anybody would just give to her. But there was no way of satisfying her now, because the one thing she longed for was to be human.  
Author's notes*  
  
Hey all you Skies of Arcadia fans out there *hears bugs chirping* AHEM, well I hope you're enjoying the fic so far! This was BY FAR the longest chapter I'v done. I hope this story isn't boring anybody, cuz if it is I'd like to hear a few suggestions out there. To avoid making this story seem too predictable I'll throw in a few new twists in the story. And I must say it's been really challenging to try developing Fina's personality in this story since she doesn't really say much to anybody, or think that much, but no worries I'll make her do a lot more interesting things soon! Next chapter how will Fina react when she finds out about her arranged marriage to Ramriez??  
  
And I'd really like to hear some reviews, how will I know if you guys aren't liking my story if I don't hear anything from ya! Is this the stinkiest fan fic you've ever read!? Or is this the best romance ever?! No worries though I don't intend on NOT finishing this story. Like I said before I wrote this for myself because I was sick of unoriginal fanfics with VxF, and I did it for other fans of Fina and Vyse. I'm not like other authors who are so desperate for reviews that I'm going to force you guys to write me some or else I won't finish the story. Sorry but I just think fan fics should be about giving not receiving. 


	4. first steps

Fina swam all the way back to Atlantis, thinking of excuses for her being gone for too long. Surely her father and her sisters were worried about her. She knew she couldn't tell them she rescued a human, they'd kill her! Mermaids, for centuries, have been keeping their existence a secret. If any human found out they actually existed they would be hunted like the sharks and whales. Telling her father the truth was out of the question. But Fina didn't know how to lie. She's never had to lie before and she worried if she would be able to get away with it. "Oh moons, please just let me get away with this!" Fina prayed almost crying. "And let me be able to return to the man I saved." She was now approaching the palace. She went straight to her father.  
  
When she entered in the palace she was immediately confronted by one of her oldest sisters, she had a distressed look on her face. "Oh Fina you were gone for so long, what happened!? Some hours after you left the Sea Witch predicted there'd be an awful storm! We were so worried that the waves would be too powerful for you, and that you'd accidentally be seen by humans!! Oh Fina I'm so glad you're okay!!" Her sister cried hugging her. Fina held onto her shaky sister, "Oh Azreal, it's okay. The only reason why I was gone for so long was because the rough waves pushed me into another part of the ocean. I, I wasn't seen by any humans." Fina reassured her hoping she sounded convincing enough. Azreal stopped crying and looked at Fina, "That's good, now let's go see Father, he was the one worried about you the most." Fina took a nervous gulp.  
  
When they got to his office the King was busy writing on scrolls. "Papa Fina's returned home." Azreal announced. The King's head shot up and looked at his daughters. "Oh Fina, thank the moons you're okay!" He went up to her and hugged her, motioning for Azreal to leave the room. When she left, the King lead Fina back to his desk. "You know I was really worried that something terrible would happen to you before I gave you your birthday present." He reached into one of his drawers and pulled out a small wooden box and handed it to Fina. Fina opened the box gingerly and was astonished at what she saw. It was a beautiful silver bracelet with 6 different colored stones. Red, yellow, green, purple, blue and silver, all the colors of the moons. Each stone radiated with it's own light. "Thank you Papa it's so pretty!" Fina said and slipped the bracelet onto her wrist. The instant she put it on she felt her skin buzz with strange energy. "That used to belong to your mother, she traveled very far to collect all the stones. Those stones are called moon stones. They are enchanted with the power of the moons, you can use the stones to cast spells. The more you exercise your power the stronger they will become. I know you have natural talent for it, because your mother did." Fina looked at her father curiously, in all her years her father never said much about her mother only that she died when she gave birth to her. No one else knew much about her mother either.  
  
Her father noticed her expression and quickly changed the subject. "So Fina how was your visit to the Overworld?" Fina took a nervous breath. "Oh uh, it-it, was fun, the sky and everything was so pretty." She hoped her father wouldn't ask for her reason for being gone too long, she barely managed to lie to her sister she didn't know if her lie would work on her father. "What else did you see?" "I saw lot's of things! Birds, clouds, the Sun...." She trailed off thinking of other things she could make up. "What about boats did you see any boats???" Fina took a few seconds to think and decided it was okay to tell her father about seeing the boat as long as she didn't mention she went near it. "Yes, I saw one boat." "Really, you're lucky not many mermaids get to see boats! What about humans, did you see any humans?" "No, I didn't get a chance to since I didn't go near it." Fina said trying to sound disappointed. "Good. Fina, I have another surprise for you." "Really, what is it?" "You're going to be married to Ramriez!" Instead of seeing Fina burst out with joy like he expected, Fina's face fell into shock dread and horror. "What?!!! Ramriez?!" "What's wrong with you Fina, I thought you'd be happy!! Ramriez will be a fine husband for you!"  
  
Fina knew she shouldn't have acted out in such a manner, after all she knew how marriages happened for royalty. The parents would have most of the say in who their daughter would marry. All her life Fina grew up knowing she'd marry a stranger, a man she didn't love. And she was okay with that because she never dreamed she'd fall in love with a human. She thought of many excuses to give to her father to not marry her to Ramriez. But the only one she could think of was that she didn't love him, her heart already belonged to the handsome human. It was useless trying to argue with her father. If she was ever going to see the human again she'd have to come up with a plan, but first she'd have to know how much time she had. Fina softened the look on her face, "I'm sorry for acting ungrateful Papa. I am happy that I'm going to get married to Ramriez, really." "Thank goodness, I thought for a second there you went crazy." "Papa when is our wedding date?" "Ramriez and I discussed it, we decided that in order for all our guests to make it we need some extra time, so we set the date in two weeks." Fina bit her bottom lip thinking if two weeks be enough time. "Really. Well I'm awfully tired, I haven't slept in one day after all. So I'm going back to my room." "Yes daughter, you'll need all the rest you can get until your wedding. Things are going to be quite busy."  
  
*A week later*  
  
Fina had spent the last week practicing magic with her bracelet. It's true she had natural talent, which made getting higher spells in less time easy. Since knowledge about the moon stones were rare, Fina had to teach herself about using magic. Blue, purple and yellow moon stones were used for attacking. Green was aiding magic and the silver moon stone was a balance death and life. The red moon stone was offensive magic. The silver bracelet itself seemed to guard the wearer from silver spells. Using moon magic took some of her energy which made her realize that she shouldn't use too many spells in a short amount of time. It took four days to get all the stones to the second level power, and she spent the three last days practicing with the blue moon stone until she finally learned the spell she wanted, Slipara. At last she would be able to put her plans in motion. Most of that week she spent avoiding Ramriez and her father which wasn't a problem since everybody was busy planing for her wedding.  
  
That night Fina didn't get any rest, she was too nervous. Tonight she'd be sneaking off to see the Sea Witch. Never in her life had she met the Sea Witch, but then again since she turned 18 she's been doing a lot of crazy things; she couldn't turn back now. She waited until she was sure everybody in the palace was asleep. She used a secret passage way out of her room, and starting going to where the Sea Witch's cave was. She knew there would be guards surrounding the walls that she needed to pass to be home free. When she saw two guards she hid behind a rock, closed her eyes and concentrated. In her mind she summoned the power of the blue moon, and whispered "Slipara." Within seconds the guards closed their eyes and fell into a deep sleep. She swam past them and was close to the wall, but then she heard a familiar voice nearby. To her horror she recognized it as Ramriez. She hid behind some corals used as decoration. She didn't think Ramriez would be on night patrol anytime this week since their wedding date was near. She closed her eyes once again, "Blue moon, lend me your strength" She concentrated and released the spell slipara from her finger tips in the direction she heard Ramriez. Suddenly the talking stopped she waited a few moments, and swam out from her hiding place only to be surprised by the tip of Ramriez's rapier pointed in her face.  
  
When Ramriez realized it was only Fina, he put his rapier away. "Fina what are you doing sneaking around in the middle of the night like this?" He demanded. Fina was too scared to reply, she didn't know what to tell him or what to do. "Why wasn't he effected by the blue spell?" She wondered, she could try casting it again, but already knew Ramriez would be fast enough to get her before she finished the spell. Seeing how Fina was too shaken up to answer Ramriez decided to just drop his question. "Let's get back inside Fina." He said and reached out to hold her arm. Fina moved sharply back and gave him a tough look, "No Ramriez, I won't go back!" "Why, where are you going?" He asked suddenly getting curious, he'd never seen Fina act like this before, he wondered what she was up to. "I can't tell you where I'm going, just go back inside the palace." Fina demanded, she really didn't expect Ramriez to just go back inside, but it was worth a try. "Fina you're coming back inside with me, even if I have to drag you back inside." Ramriez said with a dangerous edge in his voice. Fina knew he probably would drag her back inside, but she couldn't allow it. This was her only chance to get away, if she messed up she'd probably be locked up in her room until her wedding. But she didn't know how to get past Ramriez, he was stonger and faster. She had the element of surprise on her side though, it would have to do. She thrust her body back as far as she could away from Ramriez, feeling the power of the blue moon fill her chest and released the energy from her hands. Before Ramriez could react he heard Fina's voice, "Wevles!" And he was caught inside a powerful whirlpool. Fina took the opportunity and dashed past him and over the wall. She didn't know how long Wevles would last, and she didn't know what Ramriez would do once the spell wore off. The only thing she could do was put as much distance between them as possible, and not get noticed by anyone until she reached the witch's cave.  
  
Fina finally reached the cave breathless. She rushed all the way to the cave, and she was sure she heard Ramriez somewhere close behind her. Since he didn't catch her she assumed he went to inform her father, soon the ocean would be swarming with soldiers searching for her. She had to do what she came for quickly. She entered the gloomy cave, it was very cold inside. "Excuse me, is anybody here?" Fina called, she thought the witch was probably sleeping, it was still late. The response was the whole cave lighting up. "Hello Princess Fina, I've been expecting you." Fina turned to the direction of the voice, and saw an old pale mermaid sitting behind a big black cauldron. "How did you know who I was, and that I was coming?" Fina asked, she was completely freaked out by atmosphere in the cave. "I've known you'd be coming to see me because I see everything: the past, present, and future. Even the dead tell me their secrets." "So, you know why I'm here then?" "Of course, you came here to ask me if I can turn you into a human so you can return to your human love." Fina was getting more freaked out by the moment the witch knew so much about her! "S-so, can you? Change me into a human that is." "Yes dear, but come here, I must tell you what the consequences will be." Fina swam to the witch and sat on a stone in front of the cauldron. The witch had a serious look on her face.  
  
"There will be no way of becoming a mermaid ever again when I turn you into a human." "That's fine, I can never return home after what I just did." "And once the spell wears off you will die." Fina felt a chill run up her spine when the witch said die. "The only way to remain human forever is to get the man you love to marry you." "How long will I have?" "On the fifth day when the sun completely sets." Fina wondered if she would be able to get the man to even fall in love with her in five days. "Why do I have to get him to marry me? It's too impossible!" "Because even though you will look like a human, you will still be a mermaid. You know the difference between mermaids and humans. Humans have souls, we don't. When they die their souls live on in the sky, when we die we simply cease to exist. A human body can only last five days without a soul. When you marry a human a piece of their soul will merge into your body, only then you be human." Fina stared down at the sand deep in thought. She thought about her home, Atlantis, and all her happy years growing up. Then she thought of the human again. "It doesn't matter, if I stay here and marry Ramriez it will be the same as death. I'd be grateful for any time I'd have to spend with the man. And I came here risking everything just to have a chance with him. Even if it means putting my life in danger, I will be willing to go through with it." The witch looked at the determined blue eyed princess.  
  
"If that is still your wish then I will grant it, but you will have to pay me first." That caught her completely off guard, "I'm sorry I didn't come here with any money..." "I don't need money, there is only one thing you have that I want." "What is it?" Fina asked. The witch went over to Fina and reached out her hand in Fina's hair. "I want some of your hair." "My hair?" Since Fina was a child her father always insisted that she grow out her hair, because her mother had long hair. Just out of plain curiosity Fina asked, "Why?" "You hair reminds me of the Sun." The witch pulled out a sharp dagger and handed it to Fina. "Cut off your hair up to your shoulders, that should be enough." Fina took the dagger, gathered up all her hair into one hand and with one swipe cut her hair and gave her golden locks to the witch. The witch took it and put it aside. The once long haired princess shook her head, it felt a lot lighter. Some minutes passed while the witch was putting together her strange brew. And before the witch put in her final ingredient, she gave Fina some more final warnings, "When you become human, your eyes will no longer be blue." "Why?" "The color of your eyes is only native to mermaids, no human has eyes like yours." Fina wondered what color her eyes would become once she was human. "And there is one side effect of this spell, and that is you will lose your memory." Fina gasped, how was she going to get the human to marry her in five days if she didn't remember him or the fact that she would be human for only a limited amount of time. A part of her told her this was coming, of course becoming a human would come at a higher price than just cut hair and different eye colors. "So my memories will be completely erased?" "Not erased, you'll get your memory back." "When?" "I don't know. One of the ingredients to turn you into a human causes temporary memory loss. I don't know if you will get your memory back soon or seconds before you die." It was too late for Fina to say no, she already cut her hair. "That's fine." The witch nodded and threw in the final ingredient.  
  
A bitter thick smell came from the cauldron. The witch started speaking in another language, Fina felt butterflies in her stomach. The witch rose her hands above her head, then dark smog arose from the cauldron mimicking the witches hands. The smog soon formed into hands, and grabbed Fina's petite body and lifted her high off the ground. Fina's lungs were burning from the stench of the smog, she helplessly tried covering her nose and her mouth. Then a sharp splitting pain came into her fin. The pain was mind blowing, Fina felt her tail bone slitting to form two legs. She tried to ignore the pain thinking of the human she was doing it for, but it only helped her ignore the pain for only a second. Then she couldn't breath. Fina then realized that she had to get out of the ocean before she drowned. She kicked her new legs and started paddling with her arms, but she couldn't move as fast as she once did without her tail. She swam higher passing the hole in the cave, swimming as fast as she could in the direction the light was. She kicked helplessly as the her lungs burned for oxygen, she shut her eyes and held onto the hope that she'd reach the surface any second. And finally she did, she threw back her head and released her breath gratefully sucking in air. Since her body was in so much pain, she floated on her back, letting the ocean waves carry her human body to wherever it wanted. Fina passed out before she even knew her body had landed in the same exact spot where she had brought the human man.  
Author's Notes: Phew Finally done with this chapter! Sorry this chapter was too long, but I hope you enjoyed it. **Whoo Hoo!! Thank you Zelda for being the first person to write a review on this fan fic! Even though you weren't showering me with compliments, criticism is always welcome (reasonable criticism). Don't worry I'll try making this fic more interesting, I'll put in more VxF fluff, and fix up the first few chapters!** Next chapter: Vyse and Fina will FINALLY meet! But will Vyse remember Fina?! And how will Ramriez respond to finding out that Fina turned herself into a human? Will Ramriez be the destroyer of Vyse and Fina's relationship or will fate just be too cruel?! 


	5. meeting

Under the Sea*  
  
All the citizens of Atlantis were in a flurry. The whole kingdom was searching for the princess who had run away last night. No one had any clue to why she had left, Ramriez most of all. Ever since she had taken off he didn't sleep or eat, he only concentrated on finding her. He got tips from some fish that Fina was seen somewhere near the Sea Witch's cave. He went straight there. Ramriez entered the cave without knocking or saying a word. But the Sea Witch already knew he was there. "The girl you're looking for is not here." She said coldly, she saw Ramriez before he saw her. "Did she happen to come here? Have you seen her?" Ramriez asked, he wondered how she knew why he was there, but he wanted to know about Fina first. Before the Witch replied, he saw an object that answered his question. He grabbed the gold braided hair off the stone where it was being displayed. "Where did you get this?!" He asked enraged. "She gave it to me, in exchange for a favor." She replied coolly. "What favor? What are you talking about ?! I demand to know!" "Let's just say, she's in a place where mermaids never set foot on." The Witch said and busted out laughing. Ramriez losing his patience drew out his rapier and put it against her throat. "Tell me where Fina is!" "Forget about her now boy. There's no way she's ever be coming back. She's become something you hate. She's human." Ramriez was stunned, he had too many surprises for one day. "How can I change her back?" "It's impossible, the spell is irreversible." "Then, I'll go after her. Turn me into a human." The Witch started laughing again. "Turn you, into a human? That's ridiculous! You are willing to sacrifice your life as a mermaid for a girl you love, yet the girl doesn't-" before the witch could finish Ramriez slapped her, so hard she was knocked onto the ground. "If you refuse to change me into a human, then I will have you locked up in prison until you die." He hissed. The Witch got up and nodded "Fine then. Whatever happens to you won't be my fault." "Just shut up and work your spell."  
  
*Nasrad*  
  
The prince turned over in his bed and cracked open one eye. He saw that it was already morning, but he didn't bother getting up. He just didn't have anything to look forward to anymore. For the last few days he'd been forced to meet all the noble women in the world. He just couldn't take another day of it. He knew his father would kill him for sleeping in, but death didn't seem like such a bad option. He closed his eye again about ready to fall back asleep when Aika came bursting through his door. "Vyse, Vyse!!! I got some good news!!" Aika announced strolling up to his bed. Vyse didn't even bother to move he only replied, "Let me guess; my dad changed his mind and decided to let me get married when I'm ready to." "Okay, okay, so it's not the greatest news, but it might cheer you up! Some guards found an unconscious girl lying on the beach and brought her here! They say she's really beautiful, about our age! She's just waken up and your father and mother are talking to her right now!" Hearing this news, Vyse sat up. "That's nice. So what's the 'good news'?" Aika pouted, "Geez, looks like someone got up on the wrong side of the bed." "Yeah, with the help of a certain someone. Come on Aika, I've been meeting girls all week! What made you think that meeting another one would make me happy?" Aika sighed deeply and put her hands to her hips. "I just thought seeing a new face might cheer you up. Besides she might be a nice person. Come on Vyse, let's go meet her." "No thank you, but thanks for telling me the news. Now I know I can sleep in today, and that makes me happy." With that Vyse fell back down onto his pillows. Normally Aika would have bothered him more, but she understood that Vyse just wanted to be left alone. So she turned around and left him in peace.  
  
*In the King's study*  
  
A young blond haired girl who wore nothing but a simple blue robe stood in front of the King and Queen of Nasrad. She wasn't afraid or even nervous because she had no reason to be. The King eyed her for a while, sometimes whispering to his wife. But she stood completely still with her hands folded in front of her. Finally the King broke the silence, "So, what's your name?" "I don't know." She replied calmly looking straight into the King's eyes. "You can't remember anything?" "No sir, nothing except for waking up here." He stayed quiet for several minutes thinking staring at the stranger. "I bet you're wondering what I'm thinking. I was just wondering if I should keep you here until you get your memories back, or if I should throw you out." The King said without a hint of emotion, still observing the girl. He kept a close eye on her face, checking to see if there was any signs of nervousness or fear. She kept her eyes locked onto his, her expression hadn't changed once since the time she came in. "If you know something about me that makes you feel uneasy keeping me here, then you may do whatever puts you at ease. However I can't vouch for my own character, because right now I can't remember what it is." "You are a strange girl, but I don't see any reasons why I should mistrust you. We have many enemies, I just wanted to make sure that you weren't one of them. You have my trust, be sure not to lose it. You may stay here until we find out what happened to you and where you belong." After the King said this the Queen breathed a lot more easier, and finally she said, "Come with me dear, I'll show you the room you can stay in, we'll get you some decent clothes, and then you can come have some tea with me." "Thank you very much, that would be pleasant." The girl said to the Queen smiling, then she addressed the King, "Thank you as well, I won't be any trouble to you or anyone here." The King's face relaxed, "I'll take that as your promise."  
  
*Nasrad at night*  
  
The blond girl stood out on the balcony of her room, watching the ocean thinking of all that happened. She had make two new friends, one red head named Aika, and the Queen. She spent the whole day with them learning things about Nasrad and a bit of history. Her new friends had also given her a new name, Fina. It was Aika who had named her Fina, after her little sister who had died when their ship sank when she was little. She recalled Aika's very words, "In many ways you remind me of her. She was quiet and curious just like you. But not only that, after my family's ship sank I always went to one spot on the beach, the same exact spot where the guards found you, and waited every morning for my sister to show up. I was convinced that she survived too. And I was sure that one day I'd find her lying on the beach and we'd be together again. Everyone thought I was just in denial, and after one year of waiting I gave up. Then finally they found you. It feels as if somehow you answered my prayers, even if you're not my sister." Those words gave her a warm feeling inside, it was a feeling of total acceptance. Right now Fina clung to those words, ever since she woken up she's been afraid and felt singled out. She was afraid she'd never remember who she was, or that she would remember and discover some tragedy had happened to her. A cold wave of fear swept over her. She crossed her arms in front of her chest "Who am I? Where do I belong? Someone please tell me!!" Fina cried out into the dark sky above. Only the crashing of the waves below answered her. She took a step closer to the railing staring down. There was something strange about the waves, like how they crashed onto the rocks and flew up into the air. It looked as if the waves were stretching out their arms to her beckoning her saying "Come to us Fina! Come dance with us for the rest of eternity! You'll find your family and home with us!"  
  
Fina resisted the temptation of the ocean and tore her gaze away. Instead of looking down she stared up into the sky. She saw little lights, there were thousands of them scattered across the pitch dark sky. As she stared she thought she heard a sound, or maybe she heard a vibration. Whatever the sound was it tickled the inside of her ear. When she listened more closely she could hear the melody. It was a song void of all happiness, it was slow and full of sorrow. Like a person who had just lost the most precious thing in the World. If she wasn't so absorbed into the song she would have wondered where it was coming from. Instead of wondering she sang along with the song. Wordlessly she sang putting all the sadness that only a person with no past could sing casting her voice into the wind back to wherever the song came from. Her voice also reached the ear of another person who couldn't sleep. Vyse had been roaming the hallways, today he just couldn't sit down. When he heard the feminine voice it stirred something in him. Just the way she was singing made him want to find her and soothe her pain. Even though it was a wordless song he could hear a sorrow that he never felt before. So he followed the sound and it led him by a guest room door. He wondered if he should knock before entering, but then decided against it because that would make the song stop, which would or in his opinion should be a crime. He slowly opened the door and looked in, nobody was in that room, but he could see a girl standing on the balcony. He slowly approached the balcony to get a better view of her. Right then he knew that she was the most fairest girl he had ever seen. Her soft shoulder length hair, looked like as if it were silk strands of the sun, Vyse was struck by the desire he had to suddenly run his hands through her hair. Her skin was pale which illuminated the moon's light making her seen more like an angel. He stood there admiring her and her wordless melody, until she was done singing. When Fina was finished singing an unexpected applaud startled her. She spun around and saw a man behind her. He didn't look very old, just about his early twenties. He had dark hair, and dark eyes. He didn't seem refined (although his clothes showed otherwise) he had almost a rugged handsome feature about him. His well built body, his carelessly messy hair, and the scar on his right cheek only enhanced his rouge look. Fina stood there wordlessly, she didn't know what to say. She didn't know if he was an apparition or human, standing in the pale light he looked more like an apparition. "That was a beautiful song." He complimented. "Oh... T- thank you." Fina replied and was surprised to find that her voice wasn't cooperating with her. "You look familiar to me, have we met before?" He asked looking deeply at her face. Fina blushed and found it hard to meet his eyes, "I don't know, I lost my memories."  
  
"I should have known, I could sort of tell that by the song you were singing. So then you're the girl everyone's been talking about since this morning. Since you're here that must mean my dad let you stay here." "You're the King's son? Then that must mean -" "Yes, I'm the prince of Nasrad, but I prefer to be called Vyse." "I'm called Fina, until I remember my real name." Automatically she held out her hand, and Vyse caught her delicate finger and held them in his rough ones and bowed slightly. "Fina I hope I can help you regain your memories, but until then you can always come to me for anything you need." He said sincerely and released her hand. "Thank you Prince Vyse. Actually there is one clue I have to where I come from." Fina said holding out her wrist for Vyse to see. Vyse took a hold of her arm to get a closer inspection of the silver bracelet. "It looks like a bangle that a mage wears. See, those different colored stones each represent every moon on Arcadia. Not many people know how to use magic, and even fewer people know how to use all six moon stones. You must be a very powerful mage." He said releasing her arm. She took a few seconds to let all the information sink in. "None of that sounds familiar to me. Just because I have this bangle doesn't mean it belongs to me. What if someone gave it to me?" "Well let's test you then. Try to use the highest spell for each stone." Fina nodded and held her arm out towards the ocean, a familiar sensation took over her and in a few minutes she had successfully casted a level three spell for each stone. "Fina that was awesome! I'd sure love to have you as a crew member of my ship!" Fina blushed in reply, she would have made a comment but she felt dizzy. Vyse noticing her sudden change lent her his arm and walked her back into her room.  
  
Vyse lead her to her bed and she sat down while he stood in front of her. "I'm sorry for keeping you up so late, you must have had a hard day." "No, it's not you, believe me you've done more for me than you realize. I'm just tired from casting such powerful spells in a short time. Next time I'll pace myself." "Well goodnight Fina. I'll see you tomorrow." He turned to leave the room. He was already by the door when Fina's voice stopped him. "Wait, Prince Vyse! I just wanted to thank you. You've helped me discover a part of myself, and hopefully a bit about my family too. If it weren't for you, I'd still be lost." Fina's words grinded to uncomfortable silence she was unsure how to continue. "You don't need to thank me, that's what friends are for." Then he left the room. "Friends....." She echoed when the door was shut. 


	6. little date

The next day at Nasrad*  
  
"Good morning Vyse! Time to get up you lazy sad excuse for a prince!!" Aika greeted merrily as she opened the door to Vyse's room. She was astonished to find a neatly made bed where the supposed 'sad excuse for a prince' should've been sleeping. "Hell must have frozen over! He never gets up before I do!" She stormed out of his room determined to solve the mystery. When a servant came into her view she called for him to stop and asked him if he knew anything about where the prince went. "Well he got up early and took the young lady known as Fina out for a tour of Nasrad; at his mother's suggestion of course." The servant answered and left when Aika excused him. She had an amused smile on her face. She was already planning on how to embarrass the hell out of him when he got back.  
  
Nasrad was always bustling with life. Since it was located in the middle of all the trade routes it was a merchant hot spot, and a place where many ships docked daily to resupply or to just hang around. Trading was Nasrad's number one source of money; since it was a airy dry desert climate place it really couldn't count on agriculture to help out the economy. The buildings were mostly made of bricks, or dry clay, since wood was too costly to import from other places. There were fountains adorning the streets of Narsrad along with various merchant tables filled with eccentric items. What added to the charm of Nasrad was all the different personalities that could be found there.  
  
Vyse had been walking around with Fina for almost an hour. Fina wore a plain white silk blouse with a navy corset over it. She also wore a long flowing sky blue skirt that went down to her ankles. And Vyse wore his casual blue pirate outfit, he suggested that they should dress plainly so they wouldn't catch too much attention while walking around. Fina was drawn to every table, and to every store they came across. Vyse normally thought spending days window shopping was tiresome and annoying, but with Fina he found it interesting; he was amused by her kitten like curiosity. Everytime they stopped at a merchant table or a shop her eyes would light up and she would ask where the items came from or what they were, and he would answer to the best of his knowledge and he would be rewarded by seeing her satisfied smile. But he found it odd when she observed a man paying a merchant for some goods and asked Vyse what they were doing.  
  
By the time it was around noon he suggested that they had lunch somewhere where it was cooler, Fina agreed and followed him to a restaurant, but a glimmering table caught her attention. She tugged at Vyse's sleeve, "Wait Vyse (Vyse told her to drop the 'Prince' title), can we please look at that one stand over there? It'll be the last one I look at for today I promise!" Vyse consented and followed Fina to the shimmering table. The table belonged to a jewelry merchant who was pleased to see a couple (they're better for business) approaching. The table was strewn with necklaces, bracelets, earrings, ring, and other things that jewels can go on. "Shopping for a gift for your girlfriend?" The Merchant inquired looking at Vyse. "Girlfriend?" Fina interjected before Vyse could protest the Merchant's assumption. "Erm, yeah, that sorta means we're in a relationship where we're in love." He answered uncomfortably.  
  
Fina was still busy looking over the jewelry and didn't bother to look up at the merchant or Vyse. Her eye's wandered over to the blue colored stones, there was something about the blue stones that seemed familiar to her. The Merchant noticed her interest in the blue colored jewelry and seized the opportunity for a sale. "Blue would look very nice on you. Here try these earrings on, they would match nicely with your silver bracelet." The Merchant picked out a pair of blue drop earrings and handed them to Fina. "No I really shouldn't, since I really have no intention or means of bu-" "Go ahead Fina, they would look nice on you." Vyse insisted. "Oh I guess if you think I should." Fina took the earrings and placed them on each earlobe, the Merchant brought out a hand mirror for her to see herself with. She held the mirror and looked at the blue earrings, they really did look good on her ears, they dangled nicely from her tiny earlobes. But when she looked at the earrings then at her own green eyes something felt wrong. It was the kind of feeling when you arrange something then find that something's been moved but you can't tell what it was. "But what could be wrong about my own eye color?" Wondered Fina, but the sound of clinking metal caught her attention; Vyse was giving coins to the merchant. "Vyse!" "Don't worry, they look like they were made for you." "But-" "It's just a friendly gift, you're not obligated to do anything to repay me." Vyse said assuringly.  
  
An earsplitting crashing sound followed by and explosion of splinters erupted from a restaurant behind them. The source of the splinters was a brute man being thrown or ejected through the front door of the restaurant and landing on an unfortunate merchant's table. Another figure emerged in the doorway of the restaurant. It belong to a young man that was half the size of the man that was just tossed through the front door. He had silver hair and dark silver eyes, something about him made Fina tremble. For a quick instant the thick darkness that was separating her from her memories cleared out. She recognized him, she knew him, she feared him, his name was on the tip of her tongue; if only she could pull more out of her memories she would have had it, but as quickly as it was open it shut. A crowd of people were now gathering in a circle formation around the silver haired young man and the brute lying on the rubble of what had once been a merchant's table. "Human filth, don't even bother showing your face around me again!" The young man spat vehemently. Two more men came from behind him and attempted to restrain him, but the silver haired young man disposed of them with one quick punch.  
  
Not waiting another moment Vyse stepped out into the clearing, with Fina following closely behind him. "Hey you, what's you're problem?!" Vyse demanded his voice thick with authority, his dark eye's locked onto silver eye's. There was a silence that descended upon the scene as both men analyzed each other. Fina took that opportunity to grab Vyse's arm, "Please, don't fight him Vyse." She begged him whispering to him so that no one else could hear. Breaking his glare away from his opponent he looked at her suspiciously, "Why, do you know him Fina?" He looked back at the other young man and found his answer. The young man's eyes were set on Fina; the expression on his face was that of recognition. Fina now stood between the two men, but she faced Vyse, "I - I'm not sure if I know him; but I have a terrible feeling about this Vyse! Please I'm begging you." Before Vyse had a chance to respond, A group of guards had already arrived on the scene and was taking the young man, who didn't resist because his eye's were still stuck on Fina, even as they were dragging him away.  
  
Soon the crowds died down, most people went home to gossip about what had just occurred. But Vyse insisted that they (Him and Fina of course) stay on the scene to investigate what had caused the young man to lash out like he did. After half an hour of talking to witnesses and the three victims, Vyse joined Fina at a table with their lunch (even though it was late in the afternoon). He placed a bowl of stew in front of her snapping her out of her reverie. "Hey are you okay?" "Yeah, I was just thinking about the guy with silver hair. He does seem familiar to me but I can't seem to place him anywhere or with anything to my past. All I know is that when I see him I get terrified and I can't stop trembling." "Don't worry Fina, I'd never let him do anything to harm you." "Thank you Vyse."  
  
*In the Palace Prison*  
  
The young man sat alone in his cell deep in thought. The image of the beautiful young blonde girl with green eyes burned in His mind. He'd seen her before, she looked so familiar to him, but how? Another thing that had been bothering him was the intense hate he felt towards the guy she was clinging to. Just seeing her with another man made him feel jealous. He wondered if maybe they were romantically involved. It was strange seeing a familiar face, ever since yesterday he was a complete stranger to everyone and everything. All he could remember was waking up on a fishing boat and being very aggravated by it. The men had called him 'Jack' but then after a few hours he realized that all the fishermen called strangers 'Jack'. For now he kept the name, because he didn't know what else to call himself. Today they docked in a town called Nasrad, the men brought him along with them to a restaurant carrying along the fish they had caught. He listened to the men while they talked, and the more he listened to them the more he hated them. When a person came carrying food plates to their table, he was disgusted to discover that they were eating the fish they had caught. Some men laughed about it, and one man made a joke about it. He didn't even respond to the guy, he only aimed his fist for his smart mouth and sent him flying out into the road. Three guards came to his cell, and one announced in a gruffy voice, "Come with us, the Captain Galcian wishes to speak to you." 


End file.
